Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Martinez et al may be in vogue, but the former Manchester United defender deserves more credit

The ignorant view of Steve Bruce is that he's a managerial dinosaur. A figure from the bad old days who is out of touch with the modern game and its sophisticated ways, who only knows the long ball.

He does not fit in with the new breed of young managers, such as Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez. While they stand on the touchline in their smart suits, the portly Bruce cuts a very different figure in his Hull tracksuit.

Just look at his record. Look at what he did at Birmingham. He led that Cinderella club into the Premier League in 2002 and kept them there for four years. Then when they were relegated in 2006, he brought them straight back up in 2007.

When Birmingham no longer appreciated him, he returned to Wigan and worked his magic there. The Latics were in deep relegation trouble when Bruce walked back into the club after Chris Hutchings' disastrous spell in charge.

Yet Bruce kept them up in 2008 and led them to 11th place the following season, despite losing top players like Emile Heskey and Wilson Palacios.

I've always felt that Bruce's 18 months at Wigan have been unfairly ignored in favour of Paul Jewell's reign before him and Martinez's after. Yet Martinez's league record was worse and the Spaniard never took the Latics to 11th during his time.

There is also this perception that Wigan were little more than a poor man's Wimbledon under Bruce, humping the ball long all the time. Yes, they did not pass the ball as much as Wigan subsequently did under Martinez, but they weren't all long ball.

Bruce's time at Sunderland is seen as a failure, yet he guided them to 13th in his first season in 2010. I'm sure the Wearsiders would love to repeat such 'failure' this season as they fight relegation.

As a Newcastle-loving Geordie, the Sunderland fans tolerated him at best and when things started to go wrong, they could not get rid of him quick enough. Their loss was Hull's gain and seven months after his sacking by Sunderland, he was appointed Tigers boss in June 2012.

He won promotion back to the Premier League in his first campaign and has topped that this season by leading Hull to the FA Cup semis for the first time since the 1930.

Hull are also on course to stay up, making this potentially their best-ever season. Bruce has achieved this because he has an eye for a player and his signings of Tom Huddlestone for a bargain £5.5million, Jake Livermore and Nikica Jelavic have been inspired. He can switch formations and he play wing-backs or the traditional 4-4-2.

He is an excellent man manager and he gets the best out of all his players at Hull, while letting them know who is boss.

Out of all of Fergie's former players, he has proved to be the best manager and he is still there managing in the Premier League, while the likes of Bryan Robson, Gordon Strachan and Roy Keane have fallen away.